Okwa Naholo
The Okwa Naholo, meaning 'white people of the water', are among the deadliest and most dangerously malevolent ghosts in all the realms. They are cursed and bound within the swamps of the Mississippi River. History Centuries before, a cruel Choctaw Warrior named Nashoba bribed the god of the night to cover the entire earth for half a year. Under the cover of night, Nashoba and his warriors slaughtered their chief and many innocents, and enslaved the rest of their tribe. When the night finally lifted and the sun god saw their treacherous deeds, he called upon his brother, the wind god to bind the murderers' hands and push them into the swamp where they drowned. To ensure they never escaped, the wind god whirled together cypress branches, swamp mud and the bones and teeth of the dead creatures and humans to form giant spiders that will prevent any measure of escape from the Okwa. Characteristics The Okwa Naholo are terrifying both to look at, and in power. Like all ghosts they rage against their fate, as water traps human souls and prevent them from seeking an afterlife, and unfortunately due to the relative isolation of their swamp which lack the strength of a river current or a sea tide, the waters do not dissipate the ghosts' rage and sap their power. The warriors' bodies have rotted, until only their skeletons remain, which gives them their name. But underneath the sets of their white ribs, a black, bloated heart beats on, and the sight of those hearts and the malevolence of memories of the evil deeds they contained which kills anyone who so much as catch a glimpse. In the Books In Rogue Wave, Serafina discovers from the conch of Baltazaar, Merrow's minister of finance, that she had riden to the various waters near the places where the Six Who Ruled, had been born, before they lived in Atlantis, when she sought the location of their various talismans. Baltazaar mentioned that a bay stallion had been brought to replace the animal eaten by the Okwa Naholo in the swamps of the Mechasipi, or Mississippi River. At the banks Nyx, mage of Atlantis and ancestor to Ava, had been born, and so Merrow must have placed the talisman there. In Dark Tide, despite the danger, Ava insists on retrieving the talisman- a ruby ring- from the Okwa's swamp, stating that the reason why her sight had been taken away was so she could retrieve the ring without the mere sight of the Okwa killing her. In Sea Spell, Ava and her guidefish piranha, Baby, travel to the swamp in the Mississippi and learns of the Okwa Naholo's legend from Amos, a farmer. Manon Laveau, the swamp queen, also assists them and gives them magic to protect them during their mission. Ava enounters the Okwa Naholo, and they attempt to lull her to coax her to remove her glasses so she could see them and die, but Ava admits that she is blind, enraging them, though they feign politeness, stalling them long enough for Baby to find the ruby ring. However, as Ava continues stalling them she begins to experience intense waves of despair, panic, desperation and fear and sees visions of the Okwa Naholo's abominable deeds in life, such as their victims' final moments. The feelings and visions overwhelm Ava and she sinks into despair, unable to care about her mission anymore, until Baby bites her and brings her back to her senses. Nashoba and the rest of the Okwa Naholo surround her, intending to finish her off, but Ava reaches forwards, breaking their ribs and knocking their jaws off before swimming off with Baby, as fast as they could, escaping the visions and the spiders at the surface with the ruby ring. Category:Ghost